HB 249 Utah House · 2026 General Session

Federal Funds Modifications

HB 249 modifies Utah's process for managing federal funds by requiring the Legislative Fiscal Analyst to share federal fund portions of budget stress tests with the Federalism Commission. The bill mandates Utah State University's Huntsman School of Business to create a public dashboard tracking state reliance on federal funds and model economic scenarios for contingency planning. It also establishes new review requirements for medium-impact federal funds requests approved by the governor or state boards, directing the Commission to evaluate and recommend on these requests. The bill appropriates $650,000 from the Income Tax Fund for implementation, affecting state agencies, the Commission, and Utah State University.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 20, 2026 Signed Mar 17, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute #1 → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 17, 2026

MODERATE

The bill establishes a Federalism Commission to evaluate federal laws against state sovereignty principles, requiring the commission to develop public curriculum on federalism, coordinate with other state agencies, and report findings to legislative committees. It also appropriates $600,000 to Utah State University for specific analytics projects and sets the bill's effective date to May 6, 2026.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of state oversight by creating a new commission with authority to evaluate federal laws, mandate curriculum development, and coordinate with executive branch agencies on federal jurisdiction issues.

REQUIREMENT

Created a new Federalism Commission with duties to evaluate federal laws, develop public curriculum on federalism principles, and report findings to legislative committees.

Mandated that executive branch agencies designate contact persons to assist the commission in assessing federal jurisdiction over state resources.

FISCAL

Appropriated $600,000 to Utah State University for the Analytics Solutions Center to fulfill specific code requirements.

TIMELINE

Set the bill's effective date to May 6, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 4, 2026 · House Feb 23, 2026

How they voted

26–1

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 29

Mar 4, 2026

D Democratic6

5 Yea 1 Nay

83% Yea

N Forward1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican22

20 Yea 2

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 17, 2026

Signed into law

Governor Signed

executive

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate/ committee report favorable [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee]

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Introduced

Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)

upper

Feb 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

House/ passed 3rd reading

upper

Feb 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

House/ committee report favorable [House Government Operations Committee]

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Government Operations Committee]

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

House/ to standing committee [House Government Operations Committee]

lower

Jan 20, 2026

Introduced

House/ 1st reading (Introduced)

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor